The snack foods market brings in almost three hundred and thirty five billion dollars globally. A big part of this market is snack nuts including almonds, cashews, pistachios, peanuts, pecans, walnuts, Brazil nuts and hazelnuts. These nuts are nutritious, delicious and tasty. They are so addictive that individuals get up from a couch or recliner again and again to return to a kitchen cupboard for just one more handful out of a can, jar or bag containing nuts.
The prior art has put forth several designs for nut dispensers. Among these are:
US Patent Publication 2011/0062190 to Scott Johnson and Ronald Brundick describes a dispensing actuator locking assembly for a bulk inventory dispenser. The dispenser comprises a housing, a lockable dispensing actuator pivotally connected to the housing, and a gate connected to the dispensing actuator. The gate is adapted to pivot between a closed position and an open position when a receptacle is properly staged beneath the dispenser. When properly staged, a receptacle urges a locking member to disengage the dispensing actuator thereby unlocking it. When the dispensing actuator is in an unlocked condition, stored inventory selectively dispenses through an opening in the housing. The dispensing actuator cannot be accidentally actuated unless and until the locking assembly is purposefully disengaged by the user of the dispenser when a receptacle is in place to catch and store the dispensed inventory.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,173 to Donald J. Evinger describes a bulk foodstuff dispenser with a pivotally mounted chute that dispenses product when manually depressed. A combined product ramp and chute spring takes the form of a flexible plastic plate in a product container area that engages and biases the chute upwardly to its product blocking position. When manually depressed, the chute flexes the ramp upwardly above a product stop, permitting product to flow over the stop into the chute. A chute safety lever prevents inadvertent product dispensing and is operated by the same user's hand that pushes the chute downwardly.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,852,167 to Francis S. Lempart describes a dispensing machine comprising a housing and a hopper arranged in the housing with a bottom discharge opening spaced rearwardly from the front housing wall. A chute has a receiving opening spaced below and forwardly of the hopper opening. An open top delivery container is mounted to reciprocate between a retracted position under the hopper opening and an extended position over the chute opening. A rearwardly hinged bottom on the container swings freely downward and discharges the container contents by gravity into the chute. A rearwardly extending platform means has its forward edge overhanging the rear of the chute opening for slidably supporting the container and the hinged bottom, and controlling the release of the hinged bottom from and the return to its normal container closing position upon reciprocation of the container. A rearwardly extending plate on the container is mounted at the top rear end for movement across the hopper opening to cut off the contents from the container during its forward shifting movement. A helically coiled spring extends across the forward edge of the hopper to open the path of the container and co-act with the advancing edge of the plate to obviate the crushing of hopper merchandise as it is cut off from the container by the spring and plate. The spring is disposed at a predetermined distance to the rear of the forward edge of said platform whereby the plate fully closes the hopper discharge opening a predetermined interval in advance of the release of the hinged bottom by the forward edge of the platform.
None of these prior art references describe the present invention.